Owner Ford chooses coach who's calm 'with a fire burning inside'

New Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell (left) with team President Tom Lewand during the news conference announcing Caldwell's hiring.

The Ford family has hired a head coach who's been to two Super Bowls and is noted for his calm demeanor as a manager, say those who have watched Caldwell's career.

Ballparking Caldwell's salary

The Detroit Lions haven't disclosed financial details about the contract of new coach Jim Caldwell but did say it's for four years.

He was paid $3.5 million annually as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2009 to 2011, according to a January 2011 report in the Indianapolis Business Journal.

His salary as offensive coordinator last season for the Baltimore Ravens wasn't reported, but upper-tier National Football League coordinators typically earn more than $1 million.

Jim Schwartz, whom the Lions fired Dec. 30, reportedly is owed $12 million for the final two years of an extension he signed in 2012, but it's unknown whether that means he was making $6 million annually or had triggers in the deal that determined the payout.

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton reportedly is the NFL's highest-paid coach at $8 million annually.

— Bill Shea

Can Jim Caldwell do for the Detroit Lions in the win-loss column what Alan Mulally did in rescuing the Ford Motor Co. from financial ruin?

That's what the Ford family is banking upon.

They've hired a head coach who's been to two Super Bowls and is noted for his calm demeanor as a manager, say those who have watched Caldwell's career.

That calm demeanor and relentless, consistent optimism in public and behind closed doors is shared by Mulally.

That measured style also is a radical shift from the last coach, Jim Schwartz, who developed a reputation for embarrassing sideline histrionics and for running a team widely criticized for talent squandered because of a lack of discipline.

Caldwell "is a very quiet, introspective, spiritual guy. From what I know of Schwartz, he seems like the polar opposite," said Bob Kravitz, a sports columnist for the Indianapolis Star who wrote about Caldwell's 2009-11 tenure as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.

Caldwell, 59, was hired last week as the Lions' 23rd full-time head coach since the National Football League franchise began play in 1930 — and the 14th coach hired since owner William Clay Ford Sr. took over the team 50 years ago this month.

"He fits our profile to a T," Lions President and CEO Tom Lewand said, without disclosing details about the contents of that profile.

"When I talk about things like leadership, experience, a sound football philosophy, intelligence, communication skills, integrity, accountability, discipline — those are the kinds of things that time in and time out we heard when people were describing Jim Caldwell," Lewand said.

A native of Wisconsin, Caldwell also sometimes is regarded as stoic on game days, a perception he said he is aware of.

"I'm not a guy that's going to run up and down the sideline ranting and raving during game day because, if you've done your work during the course of the week in terms of preparation, making certain they're in the right spot, there's not a whole lot of yelling and screaming that you have to do," Caldwell said during his introductory press conference at Ford Field last week.

Caldwell, who peppered his comments with biblical references, pledged to field a disciplined, smart, fast football team that shows proper humility and community involvement off the field.

Media members in Baltimore, where Caldwell was an assistant coach with the Baltimore Ravens the past two seasons, echoed the sentiment that he isn't a hothead.

"What you see is what you get with Jim Caldwell: He's a man of substance who remains composed in all settings, on the field, in meetings and during press conferences," said Aaron Wilson, the Ravens beat writer for The Baltimore Sun.

"He believes in setting a high standard for everyone, and treating people the right way. He's very detail-oriented, has a good feel for the big picture."

Wilson said Caldwell is better suited to be a head coach than an offensive coordinator, and that Lions fans will like his style.

"He's a Midwest guy who has a blue-collar work ethic and is very down to earth. He doesn't put on airs. He's a people person who treats people with respect," he said.

Bill Ford Jr.

Corporate counterpart

Mulally, 68, is a Midwesterner, too, having grown up in Kansas.

Bill Ford Jr., executive chairman for Ford Motor Co. and vice chairman of the Lions, brought the former Boeing Co. executive to run the automaker in September 2006.

"When I hired Alan Mulally, no one had ever heard of him," he told reporters at Wednesday's press conference, in defense of criticism that the Caldwell hire was the wrong move.

"A big part of leadership is being authentic to who you are, thinking about what you really believe in and behaving accordingly," Mulally told New York-based McKinsey & Co. management consultants in an interview published in November.

It's been widely documented that Mulally saved cash-hemorrhaging Ford by cleansing the company's inhibited atmosphere to create more inclusiveness and buy-in, and putting a renewed focus on the Ford brand itself by selling Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin, and killing Mercury. He also cut jobs, closed factories and modernized the rest.

Caldwell doesn't have that much power. The Lions have a president and CEO in Lewand and a general manager in Martin Mayhew — they conducted the coaching search — but an NFL coach holds a CEO's power in how a team deploys its main asset.

Caldwell's demeanor impressed Ford.

"I think he's very calm and very measured, but has a real fire burning inside of him," he said.

The Xs and Os

In his introductory press conference, Caldwell provided some hints about what he expects his management style to produce.

"We're going to be smart. We're going to be a football team that takes the field that's not going to shoot itself in the foot," he said. "We're going to be a team that is disciplined, that's focused, that understands situational football. It's going to be drilled and drilled and drilled and not just given lip service, but what you should see on the field is obviously a product of our coaching, our instruction and our demands."

In addition to reducing penalties and turnovers — boilerplate language by every football coach — Caldwell said his Lions will run a single-back offense, with the quarterback often changing the play at the line of scrimmage.

They also will run the ball more.

"We want to make certain we control the line of scrimmage, so I think you have to have a team offensively that can run the ball," he said. "You have to have a team, obviously, on the line of scrimmage, who can also pass protect."

That translates into quarterback Matthew Stafford throwing fewer passes. He led the NFL in pass attempts in 2011 and 2012 and ranked fourth in 2013.

A former defensive back at the University of Iowa, Caldwell has spent his coaching career working with quarterbacks and wide receivers.

In Detroit, he's expected to aid in the development of Stafford.

"He's a guy that has talent, he has ability, he has great leadership qualities and I think, without question, you're going see him develop and then also, certainly, take off in every facet," Caldwell said.

The concerns

Ford faced skeptics when he brought in Mulally, who began his career as an aircraft engineer, to run a car company.

The Caldwell hire also produced naysayers, who blasted the Lions for what they said was a panic hire.

Critics point to a subpar record (26-63) as head coach of Wake Forest University from 1993 to 2000; his Colts team going 2-14 in 2011, which prompted his firing; and Baltimore's offense faltering last season, when he ran it as the coordinator.

His proponents say Caldwell was a victim of circumstances in the NFL. In 2011, he was without all-world quarterback Peyton Manning for the entire season.

The Star's Kravitz said the Colts' management cramped Caldwell.

"The 2-14 debacle really falls on (Colts president) Bill Polian, who always refused to get himself a decent backup quarterback," he said. "The big question with Jim is how he'll operate without Polian looking over his shoulder. There was always the sense here in Indy that Polian, who was very heavy-handed and very involved in everything, held the marionette strings. I'd like to see what Caldwell does with a bit more freedom."

The Sun's Wilson said injuries hurt Caldwell's efforts in Baltimore in 2013.

"He was kind of hamstrung with the offense this year with an offensive line and running game that struggled and trading (wide receiver) Anquan Boldin and (tight end) Dennis Pitta getting hurt," he said.

Other options

The Lions reportedly were ready to hire San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, but he opted to take the head coaching job with the Tennessee Titans on Jan. 13.

The Lions also had formal interviews with Gary Kubiak, who was fired as Houston Texans head coach before the end of the 2013 season after the team lost 11 consecutive games; and Mike Munchak, fired by the Titans on Jan. 4 after three seasons as head coach.

They also reportedly were interested in former Super Bowl-winning coaches Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden, but any talks with them were informal.

Caldwell said the Lions can contend in 2014 — words the Lions' brass want to hear.

"I believe the time is now. Not two years or three years from now down the road somewhere. We're right here, right now," he said.